The Encuentro Project has welcomed 7 groups from January to May, 2022.
Updates on the Encuentro Project
Since the beginning of 2022, Encuentro Project has been unable to use the Grandview house due to a zoning issue and maintenance problems. The Encuentro Project Board of Directors decided at their May meeting to suspend all use of the house until there is a formal agreement with the owners of how the house will function and to see if a zoning variance is even possible.
Therefore, Encuentro Project, as it has for the last several months, is renting space from other groups such as Columban Mission House and ABARA for lodging and presentations. We also use Sacred Heart Church for some presentations.
Situation on the Border
Even though Title 42, the provision that prevented asylum seekers to enter the U.S. due to health concerns, was to end on May 23, a Louisiana judge has been able to keep it in place. Therefore, the numbers of people who are seeking asylum are bottlenecked in Mexico. However, migrants are making their way into the United States. With the end of the Migrant Protection Protocol (MPP), we expect to see many families and individuals who had to stay in Mexico until their court cases come to El Paso.
In El Paso, there are not sufficient volunteers to staff the shelters. Ruben Garcia has called on the U.S. government to assume more responsibility for housing the people released from the detention centers.
The City of El Paso is now staffing most of Casa de Refugiado, which will close at the end of July.